The Spirit Host - a painting log.

[TMS]

Actually, after having applied cotton around the sides on a few models I think that it might actually work out, thanks to the cotton being so malleable and easy to push aside when you need it. They will most likely end up taking up slightly more space than they're supposed to but I've gotten full leeway when it comes to that from my gaming friends. I will soon be getting some custom movement trays made for them, that should also help keep the models packed together. If I pay attention to the cotton that I'll glue on to the movement tray itself, the unit will have a solid carpet of cotton mist underneath their feet, which was the original plan. I'll provide you with some pictures once I have it ready.

Also, I've been wondering about the subject of unit fillers. Going with my army fluff, I was thinking of perhaps using doll house furniture (if I can find it in the right-ish scale, of course), as Helena's ghostly powers are emanating from her house and as such, letting her soldiers carry along some of the possessions from her home could be a fluffy type of unit filler in my opinion. A friend of mine was quick to point out that it'd either look like they had raided a mansion or that they were performing a transferring-business whilst fighting. Shortly thereafter, much to my dismay, this slogan was coined:
"The Spirit Host - moving furniture and combatting the unseen evils of the darkness without you ever being aware of it!"

I know that it's bad, which is why it made me displeased, heheh. Still, I can't let go of the idea so easily. I guess I'll have a look around and see what I can find.

Finally, Leviathan, the accident with the horse happened mainly due to the fact that I'm set on having everything in the army perched up on their little platforms. It has sort of become my thing, heheh. The model would have worked just fine if I had just used the regular cavalry bases for it. The sculpts are indeed great though!

 

[TMS]

So I've returned with nothing but a minor update on this ongoing project of mine. Seriously, there's things all over that is stealing away at my attention (not only negative things thankfully, heheh) and that coupled with my general laziness means that I haven't gotten much done at all lately. I do have these three completed bases to show. No movement tray for them yet, sadly.


The movement tray will cover from the red line and downwards, by the way, and can be made to extend slightly upwards as well.


Just a little bit to the side..

I've also received the models that I ordered from the Miniature Giant's site, which I showed on the page before this one. Here's some pictures of them and how they compare to the regular troops..


The guy on the right with the flaming sword will take the place of Skeletor as the leader of the green ones: he's even got himself his very own crown of commandment, heheh. The one in the middle is simply huge, which makes him quite cool in my eyes... And you can't really call the bulky one on the far left tiny either, huh? Anyway, I think that these size issues can be explained by simply saying that they're ghosts and as such able to alter their material appearance to become more frightening to their opposition, no?


This guy is just creepy but he'll make a good unit filler! (A unit filler that takes up two spaces, how necessary, heheh)


This quintet will form together and act as cairn wraiths + tomb banshee.


And finally, this guy will be used as a lycni vampire. He looks like he's able to shift around pretty quickly, heheh.

Anyway, that's all I have to show for now. I hope I'll get back on track on this again soon.

 

[Disciple of Nagash]

A nice update there MasterSpark - look forward to seeing your painting technique on your new models.

 

[dictator]

I can't wait to see them come to life, er I mean undeath.

 

[TMS]

So I am back again with an update after an inspirational battle I had this weekend where I mercilessly butchered my friend and his dark elves. He even conceded the game at the start of turn 5. I've not won against him for atleast 4-5 games in a row and since this was the first official outing for The Spirit Host it served to boost my spirit and made me anxious to get back to painting, heheh.

So I've painted my cairn wraiths + tomb banshee, using the asurmen blue wash followed by a bit of badab black. Here they are..


Group



Those two...


This one...



And finally these two...

I don't really know why but for some reason I'm not feeling all too satisfied with their paint job at the moment. It might be because they're metal models which could be producing slightly different results with the washes... anyway, I'll give them a couple of days to grow on me before I either base them or re-paint them. I didn't really like the green ones at the beginning too much at first either but I had a quick change of heart after some time, heheh.

On another note, I've made a (rather makeshift, heheh) temporary placeholder for my army general to use until I've managed to convert up a suitable model for her. Being the realist that I am I know that it might be a while before that gets done and this will atleast be better than a proxy or empty base, right?

A quick note, my camera makes her image more blurry than it really appears..



Hahaha. :grin:

 

[The Dark Sheep]

Well that was an original idea...

I agree about the wraiths. There's just something strange about the washes and metal models . My nightmare just looks crappy after a thin coat of badab...

Oh and almost forgot: my post number 700 :grin:.

 

[Josef]

i dont have any issue with the metal models and washes...or at least i cant tell any issues. but looking good so far and the place holder is a good idea.

 

[Boo]

Looking good as ever masterspark. Those wraith are really sweet!

Have you any idea of what to make your general look like, I mean what model you'll use and so forth.

 

[TMS]

Thanks for the feedback, I'll give the models a day or two before I do anything. Sometimes, all it takes is simply getting used to them, heheh.

And Boo, I actually do have a sort of idea of how I want her to look like when it's all done..



I'll use that model (brought to my attentions by Spla5hmummy ) as a starting point. I'll need to give her a new face/head, realign her arms and give her a pair of shoes. She'll then be floating in front of a large wooden chair carried by a small group of grave guard (either two or four, depending on how many will fit on to a cavalry base) and the whole shebang will be used as a casty lord on a hellsteed.

 

[spla5hmummy]

Very nice. I actually quite like the washes on the metal. It may not be the look you were going for but it's effective nevertheless. I'll enjoy seeing some army pics when more of the army is finished.

 

[TMS]

I'm pretty sure that I'll be keeping the wraiths as they are, as they do look good when put next to the other painted models. Unfortunately I'll be moving into a new appartment during this month and won't easily be able to work on anything until I've set up camp over at the new base, heheh.

 

[The Red Scourge]

I don't really know why but for some reason I'm not feeling all too satisfied with their paint job at the moment. It might be because they're metal models which could be producing slightly different results with the washes... anyway, I'll give them a couple of days to grow on me before I either base them or re-paint them. I didn't really like the green ones at the beginning too much at first either but I had a quick change of heart after some time, heheh.

Also take into consideration that these wraiths are more dynamic in their poses than your spirit hosts and grave guards. As your paint job is basically a gradient from white to black, top to bottom, which works well with static models, as it accentuates the calm and relentness stride forward and/or the eerie tranquility.

Your wraiths on the other hand are much more dynamic in their poses, so you need to rethink the recipe – as they basically looked like undercoated models drybrushed to easier see the creases and folds. Ask yourself what creates the 'glow' of the wraith, and how will that move, when the wraith moves.

Like your ethereal host concept (had a notion to do the same to my army), and do look forward to seeing the work progress. I do think however that your mist bases are a little too cloudy. Its density should come from the volume of the mist, and not the mist itself – currently working on my take on mist, but can't seem to get it quite right

 

[TMS]

Thanks for the input Red Scourge, but I am actually happy enough with how the bases look now.

As for the wraiths, I've got to ask you if you've got the answer to the question that you advice me to ask myself? I really can't figure it out, heheh.

 

[The Red Scourge]

Thanks for the input Red Scourge, but I am actually happy enough with how the bases look now.

Then that's how it should be

And no, I do not have the answer to your wraiths, I'm just posting my idea on, why you're not satisfied – then I'll hope you come up with a solution for me to copy

 

[TMS]

All right, heheh. I'll do some soul searching to see if I can come up with a definitive answer.

Anyway, I have managed to convert some black knights to use in my ghostly army. I wanted them to match their walking counterparts so I've basically mixed bits from the grave guard sprue with pieces from the bretonnian knight sprue.







Sorry for the irregularily shaped photos, heheh. Anyway, I initially met some concern when I presented this idea to a more experienced modeller but in my opinion they look pretty sweet. Definately good enough!

 

[Josef]

they look good you did a great job i still feel the legs are a little to under detailed to mix with the GG torsos. you can try adding some GS to them to make it look more detailed...hope this made sence

 

[Disciple of Nagash]

Damn you MasterSpark!! Damn you!! That was my idea with the Bret knights..................that i just haven't got round to doing yet......or getting the models (if anyones got any Bret Knights let me know)

Well I'm glad to know they look so good, looking forward to seeing how you paint them.

Oh & don't forget to post in the TVC or I'll have to hunt you down...........

 

[The Inspector]

Damn you MasterSpark!! Damn you!! That was my idea with the Bret knights..................

Heh, the use of Bret/Empire Knights as a conversion for Black Knights has been common practice for several years. Only with the release of plastic Grave Guard with the new book has the old practice been slightly updated

Good effort though - hope our short conversation on the chat was helpful!

 

[The Dark Sheep]

Dunno if you've read through it yet, but have a look at this painting tutorial. It might help you with the wraiths link

 

[dictator]

Good job overall. I like the separation of the pieces of armor. It will look even better once they are all painted.

 

[TMS]

I thank you for the positive reception of the black knights, my fellows.

I have never been more inspired to just wield my paint brush and go to town on the 50-odd infantry models that I have left to paint than I am right now. Probably because it's all packed away and situated in another apartment at the moment, heheh. Anyway, I think that I have come up with a colour coding to use throughout the army.

Army general / Lords - Pure white
Heroes / Lesser characters - Red
Core units - Green
Special units - White/Gray
Rare units - Blue

And then for the few special projects that I have in mind (corpse cart and black coach specifically) I'll go with a freestyle scheme.

Things should be set up at the new place in less than a week from now and I will get right on to painting as soon as I can!

Edit: Also, thank you for that tutorial-link, Sheep. I should be able to use it for something good, heheh.

 

[TMS]

Hello again,

I still have not gotten a chance to paint anything (should be setup within 2 days from now, though!) but I still feel like sharing some modelling ideas that I am having.

For zombies I'm planning on using the imperial flagellant models, possibly mixed with some ghoul and zombie parts to create a more undead effect. They would then be painted with the greenish tint to match the rest of the army's core units.

For fell bats I'm considering using the pegasus knights as a basis, since the rest of my special choices will essentially be the spirit-remains of bretonnian soldiers. By modelling the riders to look like they are hanging limp and dead from their saddles I could then explain why they have suddenly had such a decrease in stats, heheh. The models are also plastic which is a huge plus.

Finally, for my spirit hosts (the actual unit type) I think that I will use the bretonnian men-at-arm models. Glue 4 of them on to a swarm base, undeadify them a little bit and paint them greyish to complement the rest of the special choices.

Does these ideas sound all right to you, my peers?

I hope so, heheh.

 

[Trevy the Great]

Nice work, Master Spark. I like the GW on the ends of the BK lances. Had I thought about my own BK more I may have done this because it looks great.

P.S I really, really love your army general. The work you've put into that model is amazing. :lol:

 

[Disciple of Nagash]

Those plans sound great MasterSpark - I especially look forward to seeing how you will do those limp Pegasus Knights. Keep up the superb work.

 

[Josef]

yea that sounds good FYI the Flagellant models are a bit expensive just a heads up (since i bought so many of them already.)

you could make your felbats knightly angels using the Pegasus wings sculpted onto some knights. (granted you would need to figure out a way to get standing legs chaos warriors maybe???)